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Interview with author Ron Nichols

Author Ron Nichols
Photo courtesy of Martin Sisters Publishing
Author Ron Nichols

Where the Sky Doesn’t End is the name of a new novel that tells the story of a young Missouri boy and girl, Brendan and Aria, who befriend an African-American janitor at their school, Mr. Washington,who's also a former Tuskegee Airmen mechanic. The story blends themes from history, race and friendship into a coming-of-age tale that’s uniquely Missourian, and American.

Author Ron Nichols began writing the book with his then middle-school-aged daughter, to help her with her own writing homework, and to convince her writing is fun. Nichols is a graduate of the MU School of Journalism, and worked as a journalist in Fulton.

He recently spoke with KBIA’s Janet Saidi from his home in Greensboro, N.C. Here’s an excerpt from their conversation.

Scarlett Robertson joined KBIA as a producer in February 2011. She studied psychology at Lake Forest College and holds a masters degree in journalism from Syracuse University. Scarlett began her professional career in psychology, jumped to magazines and then came to her senses and shifted to public radio. She has contributed to NPR member stations WAER in Syracuse, KUT in Austin and Chicago’s WBEZ.